Elia Kazan Biography

Born Elia Kazanjoglous, September 7, 1909, in Constantinople, Turkey; died
of natural causes, September 28, 2003, in Manhattan, NY. Director and
author. Director of stage and screen, Elia (pronounced
EE–lee–yah) Kazan played an important role in bringing to
life some of America's most treasured plays and movies. His
intimate work with playwrights such as Arthur Miller and Tennessee
Williams transformed Broadway. Kazan was also known for his skill in
dealing with actors and helped bring up some of the cinema's
enduring stars, including Marlon Brando and Warren Beatty. Controversy
followed Kazan for decades after his decision in the 1950s to testify
before the House Un–American Activities Committee (HUAC), but his
career never suffered.

When Kazan was four years old his father, a rug merchant, moved to New
York from Constantinople, Turkey, and shortened the family name from
Kazanjoglous to Kazan. The family lived in the Greek section of Harlem for
a short time before moving to the suburb of New Rochelle. Despite the
shortened name and growing up in the suburbs of New York, Kazan always
considered himself an outsider. Expected to become a rug merchant like his
father, Kazan decided to take a different route.

Kazan had an interest in film and literature and after high school he
entered Williams College. At college, Kazan's sense of isolation
and separateness was further enhanced. He was not invited to join a
fraternity and instead worked as a bartender and waiter at their social
gatherings. Kazan attributed some of his desire to succeed to the revenge
fantasies he harbored during his days in college. He decided to study
performing arts after seeing the influential film
Battleship Potemkin.
He graduated with honors in 1930 and attended Yale University Drama
School for two years before heading to New York.

In New York, Kazan joined the Group Theatre. He studied as an actor with
them and also worked as part of the stage crew. It was with the Group
Theatre, which included famed actor and teacher Lee Strasberg and writer
Clifford Odets, that Kazan became devoted to the "Method"
form of acting—one which asked the actor to find a matching
internal emotional truth to mimic the emotion exhibited by the character.
Kazan eventually became disillusioned with the Group Theatre, particularly
with the influence that the Communist Party held over the group.

Kazan began directing plays in 1935. During that time he was also acting
in plays, including several written by Group Theatre member Odets such as
Paradise Lost, Golden Boy,
and
Night Music.
In 1940 he had his first film role, playing a gangster in
City for Conquest.
Despite offers to remain in Hollywood and continue acting, Kazan passed
up a long–term contract with Warner Brothers and chose to
concentrate on directing. He returned to New York. His first critical
success came in 1942 with the comedy
Cafe Crown.
That same year his direction of
Skin of Our Teeth
won the New York Drama Critics Award.

It was not long before Kazan was noticed by Hollywood again—this
time for his direction. In 1945 he made his directing debut with
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,
in which he used actual locations in the city for some of the
film's scenes instead of sets. The lead actors of the film won
Academy Awards for their performances and Kazan went on to direct several
other critically acclaimed as well as popularly successful films in the
1940s. Kazan continued to pioneer on–location filming with
Boomerang!,
which was shot in Connecticut. In 1947, Kazan won an Academy Award for
Best Director for
Gentleman's Agreement,
which starred film icon Gregory Peck. The film addressed the issue of
anti–Semitism and also won Best Picture. In 1949, Kazan directed
Pinky,
which successfully tackled issues of racism.

While his film career was gaining steam, Kazan continued directing
award–winning Broadway plays. In 1947, he won a Tony award for his
direction of Arthur Miller's
All My Sons.
His long collaboration with playwright Tennessee Williams began around
this time, including his direction of
A Streetcar Named Desire, Camino Real, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,
and
Sweet Bird of Youth.
Kazan also directed the
highly successful production of Miller's
Death of a Salesman.
In 1948, Kazan, along with Lee Strasberg and others, formed the Actors
Studio, which produced such stars as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.

On April 10, 1952, Kazan made the most controversial decision of his life.
On that day he appeared before HUAC and listed the names of eight former
associates of his, calling them Communists. His personal relationships
suffered the most. The testimony led to a long–standing rift
between him and Miller. On the other hand, Kazan's directing career
suffered little. He went on to direct such films as
On the Waterfront,
which won eight Oscars. In 1956, his film
East of Eden
introduced the young James Dean to filmgoing audiences.

Despite continuing success on Broadway—he won the New York Drama
Critics award for
Sweet Bird of Youth
in 1959—Kazan became frustrated with the financial burdens and
restrictions becoming prevalent in Broadway productions. He abandoned
Broadway and began focusing on writing novels and screenplays. He also
left the Actors Studio to co–direct the Lincoln Center Repertory
Company. After two disastrous years with the Lincoln Center's first
acting company, Kazan resigned.

Through the 1960s and 1970s, Kazan focused even more on writing. As a
writer, Kazan wrote six novels and an autobiography. His novels
America, America
and
The Arrangement
were turned into films, which he also directed. One of the last films he
directed was
The Last Tycoon,
made in 1976, starring De Niro. In his 1988 autobiography, Kazan said he
turned to writing because he was tired of interpreting the work of others.

In 1999, Kazan faced controversy again when he was given a special award
by the Motion Picture Academy. Even after 40 years, Kazan was still seen
by some as a traitor and his award was protested. Others, including
director Martin Scorcese and De Niro, supported the award and Kazan.
During the award presentation many audience members withheld applause in
protest, while others gave him a standing ovation.

Kazan was married three times. His first wife, playwright Molly Day
Thacher, died in 1963 after a 31–year marriage. His second wife,
actress Barbara Loden, died after 13 years of marriage. He is survived by
his third wife, Frances Rudge, four children, three step–children,
six grandchildren, and two great–grandchildren. Kazan died on
September 28, 2003, of natural causes; he was 94. Bart Barnes of the
Washington Post
wrote, "[Kazan was] widely acclaimed as one of the 20th
century's most innovative and influential American artists."
His direction bolstered the work of American playwrights, introduced some
of stage and screen's most influential actors, and created a kind
of filmmaking that has influenced generations of movie makers.